| AlterNet

Jumping Jack Rachel Maddow

The Masher, AlterNet. August 25, 2008.
An exuberant Maddow called for a stronger progressive media to counter the right-wing propaganda machine.

From the blogs

Is the Love Affair Over? McCain Gets Combative With Reporters

by Steve Benen, Washington Monthly

What happened to the 'Straight Talk Express?'

With the Dem Nomination in Hand, Time Portrays a Darker Image of Obama

by Michael Shaw, BAGnewsNotes

TIME's convention preview has Obama surrounded in shadows.

Why are the Police Protecting Big Money from Public Scrutiny in Denver?

by Jane Hamsher, Firedoglake

Police arrest journalists trying to get the skinny on Democratic senators and VIP donors.

Fox News Aired Only Two Minutes of Democratic Keynote Address, Discussed Ayers Instead

by Jamison Foser, Eric Boehlert, Media Matters for America

Fox News shows its fair and balanced nature.

McCain's Ad Scam: Why Pay For What the Media Will Do For Free?

by Steve Benen, Washington Monthly

McCain isn't airing most of his ads, just sending them directly to a media all too willing to show them around.

Maureen Dowd is Dishonest and a Very Bad Writer

by Booman, Booman Tribune

MoDo writes another column that helps McCain.

Corporate Media Focuses on DNC as the World Burns

by dday, Hullabaloo

Russia, Georgia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan are in turmoil, but the corporate media reports only on the DNC.

Jon Stewart Attacks Fox News: 'It's a F**k You to People With Brains'

by Isaac Fitzgerald, AlterNet

Stewart doesn't think much of Fox's slogan, or their reporting; actually he doesn't think much of any cable news network.

Rachel Maddow Spanks Joe Scarborough

by Jill Hussein C., Brilliant at Breakfast

Watch it Joe, your jealousy of Maddow is starting to show.

McCain and Leno Yuk it Up on The Tonight Show

by Melissa McEwan, Shakesville

Leno takes it easy on McCain, but still manages to make him pout over the number of houses he has.

Unplug and Recharge: Can Arianna Huffington Really Make Politicos More Self-Aware?

Don Hazen, AlterNet. August 25, 2008.
In a stark contrast to the endless talk and politics, Arianna Huffington launches campaign for more self-awareness at the Democratic Convention.

Progressive Media's New Smackdown Power: Why Swiftboat Tactics Aren't Working in '08

Eric Boehlert, Media Matters for America. August 25, 2008.
Four years of bulking up the progressive media's infrastructure to fight media-driven attacks from the right are starting to pay dividends.

Communication Breakdown: How Cell Phones Hurt Communities

Benjamin Dangl, AlterNet. August 21, 2008.
Have cell phone kept us better connected or driven us into our own little worlds?

Arizona Shock Jock's Dangerous Call for 'Bloodshed' in Polling Places

Rory O'Connor, RoryOConnor.org. August 21, 2008.
Comments by host Jon Justice could prove to be the spark that turns ominous hate speech into real-life acts of hatred.

The Right's Five Most Hilariously Boneheaded Anti-Obama Smears

Brad Reed, AlterNet. August 20, 2008.
From birth certificates to Bernie Mac, a look at the goofiest attacks against the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Three Aging White Men to Moderate Presidential Debate

Marie Cocco, Washington Post Writers Group. August 19, 2008.
So much for change. Only one female correspondent has moderated a presidential forum since the commission began running debates in 1988.

Media Mash: Crashing an Obama Book | CNN: Getting as Bad as Fox

The Masher, AlterNet. August 18, 2008.
A new book about Obama is a welcome antidote to anti-Obama propaganda, and CNN does the right's dirty work for them.

NPR Gets It Wrong on the Food Crisis

Frances Moore Lappe, Huffington Post. August 18, 2008.
Morning Edition's recent series on the food crisis reinforces dangerous myths that actually block us from seeing the real solutions to hunger.

What's Going on with the Media's Ballooning Coverage of Celebrity Babies?

Meredith Blake, The Nation. August 15, 2008.
As print journalism faces extinction, tabloids obsess over celebrity pregnancy and childbirth. What's wrong with this picture?

Right-Wing Front Group Rolls Out Smear Movie on Obama

Bill Berkowitz, Media Transparency. August 15, 2008.
Citizens United is rolling out 'Hype: The Obama Effect,' an anti-Obama documentary that aims to make waves.

FOX News Calls White Supremacist, Holocaust Denier and Anti-Semite a 'Free Speech Activist'

Heidi Beirich, Hate Watch. August 13, 2008.
Fox News interviewed Paul Fromm, an infamous racist and Holocaust denier, presenting him as a normal guest.

What Does the NY Times Have Against Local Food and Green Living?

Kerry Trueman, Eating Liberally. August 13, 2008.
A handful of Times writers seem to be intent on undoing all the strides Americans are making to live greener.

How to Crack the Pentagon Pundits' Code

Diane Farsetta, Center for Media and Democracy. August 12, 2008.
You can help plough through the 8,000 pages of internal documents on the Pentagon's covert pundit-propaganda program.

Unfit for Publication: Swiftboater Book 'The Obama Nation' Filled with Falsehoods

Matthew Gertz, Eric H. Hananoki, Media Matters for America. August 8, 2008.
A review finds that Jerome Corsi's new book contains numerous falsehoods about Sen. Barack Obama.

North Carolina Paper Covers the John Edwards Allegations -- Carefully

Clint Hendler, Columbia Journalism Review. August 7, 2008.
Love child allegations about Edwards remain so far unproven. One paper decides to cover the story properly.

Mad for Rachel Maddow

Rebecca Traister, The Nation. August 7, 2008.
Will Maddow's unlikely success, reliant on her ability to defy cliche, signal a move in punditry away from the thuggish and toward the sophisticated?

[Part Two] Empty Talk Express: The Problems with McCain's Health Care Plan

Trudy Lieberman, Columbia Journalism Review. August 7, 2008.
McCain touts his health plan as a boon for consumers. But real-world data shows that buying health care is not the same as buying an iPod.

Stigma: What Hollywood and the Media Teach Us About Mental Illness

Richard A. Friedman, The American Prospect. August 5, 2008.
From Virginia Tech's Cho to Hannibal Lecter, exaggerated portraits of mental illness show how much we have yet to learn about psychiatric disorders.

A Guide to the Sleaziest (and Most Contradictory) Smears on the Dem Nominee

Mister Leonard Pierce, AlterNet. August 5, 2008.
The Right appears to be having trouble pegging a consistent narrative to use against Obama; we're here to help.

McCain's Health Care Plan: Gut Employer-Based Insurance

Trudy Lieberman, Columbia Journalism Review. August 3, 2008.
McCain's health care plan has dangerous implications for Americans. But you'd never know if from media coverage. [Part one of two]

Talk Radio and the Conspiracy to Kill

Rory O'Connor, AlterNet. August 1, 2008.
Would Jim Adkisson have killed without prompting from extreme right-wing talkers?

Govt. Milks Stoner Stereotypes in Anti-Pot Propaganda Film

Paul Armentano, High Times. August 1, 2008.
Stoners in the Mist is one of the most offensive and outrageous pieces of anti-drug propaganda ever produced.

In a Perfect Storm of Economic Stagflation, the Yachting Set Says: "Let Them Eat Pizza"

Joshua Holland, AlterNet. July 31, 2008.
Officially, "stagflation" is a thing of the past, but a deeper look reveals a different, very painful reality for most Americans.

CNN Uses Racial Extremist as Source for Its 'Black in America' Series

David Holthouse, Hate Watch. July 30, 2008.
What is CNN doing interviewing the founder of an online discussion forum that promotes selective breeding of the human species?

Right-Wing Pathologies Revealed After Adkisson Shooting at Unitarian Church

John Dolan, AlterNet. July 29, 2008.
When Free Republic forum posters learned that the gunman was from their own demographic, out came the conservative madness.

The Danger of Meat-Heavy Diets

Kathy Freston, AlterNet. July 29, 2008.
The Atkins, eat-lots-of-meat diet is about as unhealthy as they come. But you'd never know it from media coverage.

Americans Move Left; New York Times Misses It

Jeff Cohen, AlterNet. July 29, 2008.
Most Americans reside on the left side of the political spectrum. But the mainstream media stubbornly refuse to acknowledge this.

Frank Rich: How Obama's Trip Abroad Turned Him into the Acting President

Frank Rich, The New York Times. July 28, 2008.
History was on the march well before Mr. Obama boarded his plane, and his trip was perfectly timed to reap the whirlwind.

McCain Doesn't Need a Fact-Checker; the Media Edit His Mistakes for Him

Brent Budowsky, Consortium News. July 25, 2008.
The media cover up McCain's latest egregious misstatements on Iraq.

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